Plasticized synthetic rubber composition



mnaa'iun e, 1939 1 I I 2,150,995 g rmneiznn sm'rmz'rrc RUBBER c com-osrrroN 1 I Peter .liwiuevicnfE iubeth', N 'J.,' im"w by iii-y I dicial change of name to Peter J. Gaylor, as-

v signer toQStandard OilDevelopment Company,

a corporation Delaware 7 i No'nrawlnpf Application December 18,1936,

o j Serial No. 116,484 I g l tte (01. 260-42)- This invention: relates to; fq le plasticized "synthetic .-preparing'same. a r In the compounding of synthetic rubber it is common practice to incorporatewlth the rubber a small amount of a plasticizer or softener to increase the pliability, durability'andtaclr of the rubber composition as well as to'facilitatef the compounding both by aiding the dispersion of b solids andby lubricating-the mix, whereby less wpower is consumed in the Many types ,of softeners have been used in the'priorart such as vegetable, animal," and mineral oils, greases,

j asphaltic fluxes, fatty acids, rosin, cumar resins, 15 tars, pitches and waxes.

Y The present invention involves primarily the I preparation of a new and improved type of softener as will be described more fully hereinafter.

, The synthetic'rubber stock which may be plas- 20 ticize'd with this new so!teningagentmaycomout'subsequent curing, such aspolyethylene suliide, polymerized vinyl chloride orfacetate or synthetic rubbers prepared by polymerization of synth'etie diolefins such as butadiene, iso'prene, or

cuts are frequently added such as fillers, reinforcers,-vulcanizing agents, accelerators, antioxidants, etc., in addition to thesofteners as already mentioned. a H

According to the present invention. a novel a more or lessplastic and. elastic aliphatic hydro: carbon; compound having a high molecular weight such as between the approximate limitsof 800 to 5,000- or 10,000 or even,15,000, 100,000, 200,000 or more (a's'determined by Staudingers viscositymethod) which is substantially greater than that of paraflin wax generally considered to be between about 250vand 400i These compounds preferably have a linear chemical structure which; may be represented by an almost completely saturated extremely long chain of carbon atoms with' alky'l groups such as; methyl, etc. attached as side chains on to either all of the carbon atoms in the chain or elsejust one or certain ones such as every second or ,thi'rd carbonatom. Polymers prepared by polymerizing ,iso-oleflnes (iso-butylene, isoamylene, etc.) at' low temperature in the presence or a volatilizable inorganic halide as catalyst; The temperature may be betweentheapproximate limits of 5 c. and 40 or 20 c.

compositions" methods of' prise any of the rubbersubstitutes with or withchlorprene, etc. In commercial practiceja certain 'amount of reclaim rubber-is often mixedwith the fresh crude rubber andv other ingredie;

type of softener isprepared which preferably is of this general structure maybe adva t eously or even lower, depending upon'the catalyst used. 'As, catalyst, boronfluoride'has been found particularly satisfactory. Also, boron fluoride mixed with hydrogenifluoridemaybe used as well as phosphorous trifluoride or pentafluoride and even aluminum chloride, preferably statu nascendi as obtained when aluminum is acted on by hydrogen chloride. In the case of aluminum chloride, 3 to 5% ofthe catalyst may be used whereas in the case-of'the previously I mentioned catalyst, 1% or so may be sui licient. 4 Suitable volatile ornon-volatile diluent such as'pentane or a commercial naphtha, or a light or heavy oil whichmaylater serve as additional softener when incorporated into the rubber may,

be used. Inasmuch asnsuch polymerizationsar usually exothermic, it is generally desirable to provide some means of cooling the reactioncham ber either externally or internally. The molecu- .lar weight may bereadily controlledbyi the ternperature andvduration of the polymerization.

'As ,aparticular example of a preferred'method 4 of preparing such a polymer, isobutylene is polymerized at a; temperature of about-+1050. by bubbling boron fluoride gas'through asolution of isobutylene dissolved in-propane. A- polymer of about 4,000to 6,000 molecular weight may be prepared in this manner and thevolatile solvent is removed by distillation, "after which'any cata-' lyst remaining dissolved or suspended in the liquid is removed by blowing with-steamor by washing and kneading'with water or dilute caus- 7 tie soda, leaving the- -colorless plastic polymer residue.

isobutylene and the temperature of polymeriza .tion. r

, Plasticizers prepared according to the above described method have a high viscosity index,'i. e.

Polymers o'flower or higher molecular weight are prepared by' varying the purity of-tl'ie' they show a relatively little change in viscosity. 0 with temperature. 7 This property is highly, de-

sirable when the softener is to be compoundedin certain types of rubber goods where it is desirable;

to have relatively constant properties of ,pliabilr ity and elasticity over a fairly wide rangein tem -l. perature; Hydrogenated rubber may i also I be understoodthatmixtures or the above described novel softeners may be-used, or one or more of them may be in conjunction with known softeners such as those mentioned previously.

The amount of this-new polymerized hydro carbon softener to be used in making-compounded rubber compositions may varyover a used as a softener, although; it is not duitejas satisfactory as polyiso'butylene. 'It is of course 'siderably more in case it is'desired more to use rubber. as a stabilizing or body-giving agent for to 1% or'5% or possibly 10%, based on the con.-.

tent of rubber plus preferred.

In order to have all of the ingredients properly plasticizer in the mix, is

mixed or blended together, several different methods may be used, first of which is mixing on the usual rubber mill or Banbury mixer which comprises essentially a series of steel rolls set fairly close together so that they effect a come bined grinding and kneading action on the plastic rubber mass being mixed. Another method of mixing is to dissolve both the synthetic rubber and the polymerized hydrocarbon softener separately in a suitable volatile solvent such as naphtha and then to mix these two solutions, continuing theagitation while evaporating off the solvent. If the mixing is not continued a separation of the materials into two layers may occur. 7 If this product is to be cured the usual curing agents and accelerators as well as other materials such as fillers, anti-oxidants, etc. may be admixed with the rubber and softener before evaporation of the solvent and then the curing effected after the solvent has been removed.

In the manufacture of dipped goods, these plasticizing polymers may be added directly to the dipping solution, or they'may be used as a separate dip in solutions of Varsol, naphtha,-

carbon. tetrachloride, benzol, or similar solvents. Alternate dips of this material and synthetic rubber can bemade inv thismanner if so desired. Sulfur chloride may be added to one of the alternate dipping solutions, if desired, to effect curing. Fillers, reinforcers, colored pigments,. anti-oxidants and other known addition agents may, of course, be added to the dipping solution or may be incorporated in the synthetic rubber before it is dissolved in the solvent to provide a cement.

Finished goods dipped from these cements maybe cured or vulcanized by anyof the common methods known to the art.

The plastic hydrocarbon pplymer maybe incorporated any time before-vulcanization into,

batches which are to be subjected to that treatment. In making so-called hard synthetic rubher", a small amount of plastic polymer may be -used to give the finished product greater flexibility and toughness. The polymer may also be incorp'orated into rubber-like productsor ,deriva-. tives such as the recently developed materials made by treatment of rubber with halogen compounds such as boron fluoride, fluoboric acid, chlorostannic acid, etc. The latter materials may be designated as haloformed rubber.

Use of such plasticizing polymers may also be made in the manufacture of synthetic rubber articles from a synthetic latex. In this case, a suspension or emulsion of the polymer, such as isobutylene polymer, may be made and employed separately, or in conjunction with, or admixed with the latex emulsion. In'this case the resulting mixture may be used with any of the common methods of synthetic rubber deposition, such as electrolytic deposition, or the use of chemical coagulating agents for the production of finished goods.

-In the preparation of rubberized fabrics, the synthetic rubber impregnated cloth may be coated with a layer of these plasticizing polymers, and

' 2,160,996 wide range such as from 0.1 to 50% or even contion thereof, and following bya dip with rubber. Another outside layer of plasticizing polymer may also be added on the synthetic rubber coating.

Also, these plasticizing polymers and/or synthetic rubber, or mixtures of the two, may be calendered or frictioned on to textile fabrics with any of. the methods well known to the art.

Plasticized synthetic rubber compositions prepared according to the present inven'tion not only have the usual properties imparted -to such comdipped goods and coated fabrics.

Although not intending the invention to be.

limited thereby, the following specific examples are given to illustrate commercial applications of the invention: Q

' Erample 1 vice versa, i. e. the fabric may be first with Y these polymers, as by dipping the goods in a solu- 100 parts or polyisobutylene or about 128,000..

average molecular weight are milled with 25 parts of vinyl chloracetateresin and pressed into a sheet. A clear soft flexible product is obtained suitable-as a water resistant coating for fabrics.

' Example 2 100 parts of vinyl chloride copolymerized with vinyl. acetateare milled with 100 parts of poly isobutylene of 128,000'average molecular weight. A very clear, soft. productis formed when'sheeted out, suitable as a coating material. Example 3 60 parts of hydrogenated rubber are milled with 30 parts of vinyl acetate resin produce plastic products. V 7

Other materials such as rubber, waxes, resins, soaps, organic acids, oxidation inhibitors, pigments, vulcanizing agents, plasticizingv agents, fillers, and the like may be added to the compositions herein described. This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier application Serial No. 717,575flled on March 27, 1934. It'is not intended that the invention be limited by any of the specific examples .given hereinabove nor by .any theories of the operation of the invention 'but only by the appended claims in which it is intendedto claim allinherent novelty in the and molded to invention as broadly as the prior art permits.

vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate intimately mixed with polymerized isobutylene having an average molecular weight offabove 800 as determined by the viscosity method.

2. A composition of'matter comprising a clear, soft, flexible, oxidation-stable homogeneous moldable composition comprising a normally hard copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate intimately mixed'with polymerized isobutylene. having an average molecular weight of above 800 as determined by the viscosity method.

PETER. J. WIEZEVICH. 

